Dr. Brent Blue on Oxygen and Carbon Monoxide

Martin Pauly

Martin Pauly

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Martin Pauly
I recorded this conversation with Dr. Brent Blue last summer during the Antique Airplane Association fly-in in Blakesburg, IA. He is credited for introducing pulse oximeters and digital CO detectors into general aviation cockpits.

I learned a few new things in this conversation.

 
Thank you as always is nice to learn from really smart people.
 
If I get above 8500 feet, after about a half an hour (varies), I start feeling uncomfortable. I'm lean, reasonably healthy, but older. I did a west coast to east coast trip 2 years ago and was occasionally forced up above this altitude for short periods of time. When this would occur taking frequent hits on the canned oxygen (Boost) really helped me feel better.

Also, even on long trips at lower altitudes I will take a few hits off it and I feel a little "clearer". This is the first time I ever heard anyone say this can be beneficial at low altitudes. It was just something that seemed to help me.

I always keep a larger can (bottle?) of Boost in the plane and use it regularly.

You certainly can't go up to higher altitudes and think it's going to help you there for any extended time. The can doesn't hold that much. But two or three hits certainly helps me in the scenarios I described.
 
This was an excellent video Martin, and I too learned a bit about effectively using pulse oximetry. I particularly liked the bit about using your 0agl O2 sat as a baseline and the -5/-10 rule for when you should be using supplemental oxygen (I think I got that right).

I just got an oxygen setup this past summer as I was going on a trip that required >12,500. I'm fortunate that even at 10-12 I only drop 1-2%, although I'm sure that will get worse with age.
 
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